Sunday, November 6, 2011

For the birds!

We survived! What you ask, did we survive? Turning our clocks back!! I don't know about you, but this pesky little thing we do in fall is quite literally "for the birds"! We have so many clocks to make sure we turn back, it can drive us bonkers. BUT we did it and now we are settling into the days getting darker MUCH earlier. Winter is right around the corner.

And with the cold weather upon us we thought it would be a good idea to make a few bird feeders to hang in our yard to help our little birdie friends during the colder months.

We wanted to do something inexpensive and easy that our 6 year old would enjoy helping with.

The only supplies we used were a liter seltzer bottle, wooden spoons, birdseed and some twine.

We got a 4lb bag of birdseed for $1.32.

We started out by having our son mark where the holes go for the spoons. Basically the spoons act as perches for the birds and the seeds spill out onto the flat part of the spoon. We cut out the holes with a sharp pair of scissors. The spoons were cheap too...a pack of 4 for $1!

Once the spoons were put in the bottle it was time to fill 'er up! The 6 year old thought this was the best part because he got to use a scoop and a funnel! Be sure to use a pan with a lip to catch any spills!

The last step before hanging is to insert an eye screw to the cap of the bottle and then you are ready to add your twine to hang.

Now off to go find places to hang them! We made two, so we put one in the back yard and one in the front. We'll see which place draws more of a "crowd".

Here he is checking out his handy work.

And lo and behold, our first feathered friends! Here is a little chickadee munching on the seeds and the photo below shows a bluejay checking out the seeds that have fallen from the feeder. He's in the lower right of the picture.

So for a little over $3 we think that this is a great project for little ones to do. It teaches them about wildlife and responsibility. We told him that he has to make sure to check the feeders often because the birds will come to rely on them and not to let them get empty. We also are hoping the squirrels don't get to the seed before the birds do!

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We are Lianne & Paul Stoddard the artist and creators behind Swirly Designs where our passion for decorating for the holidays inspired us to combine our artistic skills to create our own collection of original handmade polymer clay holiday ornaments.

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